GUELPH, Ont. – The Guelph Gryphons track and field team, even by the program's incredibly high standards, had a season to remember in 2017/18. The Gryphons began the year ranked No. 1 in the country and they finished it in that very position, sweeping both the OUA and U SPORTS championships in convincing fashion.
 
About a week after securing the national banners in Windsor, the team met. Head coach Dave Scott-Thomas made it clear that the goal in 2019 was to do the same – and for those who wanted to be a part of it, they had to get onboard the train immediately. When the team gathered for training camp this past fall, Scott-Thomas needed about 30 seconds to remind them what was needed.
 
He told the athletes, 'You know it, you don't need to hear it from me again. The second Saturday of March in Winnipeg, the greatest number of athletes we can get there, and we're winning two national titles. That's the goal.'
 

"They don't need me to come up with some speech," said Scott-Thomas. "I don't have that navigational skill where I sit at home and try think of something inspiring. This is just the way it is.
 
"These are very good teams, the entire composite of focus and attitude, in addition to their athletic abilities."
 
And that has been the Gryphon way in a program that has set the standard for collegiate track and field in Canada. The massive squad has been hard at work since shortly after winning in Windsor and once again, both the women and men enter the season ranked No. 1 in the first U SPORTS poll that came out this week. The Gryphons have participated in a couple of meets before 2018 ended but they're now gearing up for the heart of the season, beginning with two groups that will head to the University of Michigan and the University of Toronto. Most of the long sprinters will travel to the Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, MI, where Team Manager Scott MacDonald ran track, while a larger group will head to the Sharon Anderson Memorial Meet to test themselves against elite OUA competition.
 
"We're ready to get after it," Scott-Thomas said. "And that's been the message with this team – we're coming out ready to punch."
 
The head coach, staff and athletes have been unambiguous about their goal to repeat as national champions on both the women's and men's sides. But strangely enough, winning isn't a regular topic of conversation amongst the Gryphons. Scott-Thomas said that each season is its own chapter. The history of the program doesn't unfold as a narrative and there is nothing owed to them. The athletes also understand that they are in a privileged position with great resources and opportunities around them. Just put in the work – and the results will come.
 
Ultimately, the team wants to showcase its tremendous depth.
 
"We were really very balanced last year," said Scott-Thomas. "That's what we strive for. There are 17 events per gender and our goal is to have representation, at a high level, in every one of them. We're pretty close to that.
 

"There are seasonal fluctuations in the overall depth charts but I don't think we have a weak spot. We've added some very good athletes and we've graduated some very good athletes but they're supposed to graduate. That means we're doing the right thing."
 
On the surface, losing generational talents like national-champion hurdler Sarah Hammond and middle-distance runner/multi-gold-medalist Tommy Land would constitute a setback. But the team continues to reload and elevate younger members into leadership roles, much like Hammond and Land, both Gryphon Athletes of the Year in 2018, did throughout their distinguished careers. There is no shortage of talent waiting to take the next step.
 
Second-year thrower Mark Bujnowski, the U SPORTS Male Rookie of the Year, who won gold in shot put at the OUAs and a bronze in the event at nationals, is exactly the kind of individual ready to help lead the team. Third-year athlete Tessa Hamilton, a U SPORTS silver medalist in the 300m, who also recently hit 3.80m in the pole vault, is another in that mould. Kendra Leger is in her second year with the Gryphons and is showing her versatility as an emerging pentathlete after a rookie season that included a U SPORTS silver medal in the 60m hurdles (behind only Hammond) and a trip to the IAAF World U20 Championships to represent Canada in the summer.
 
There is another anchor in Shyvonne Roxborough. The third-year Gryphon from Ottawa, ON had an incredible 2017/18 season, establishing herself as the best collegiate female sprinter in Canada with OUA and U SPORTS gold medals in the 60m event. The Olympic-calibre athlete has taken up the long jump this year and she already qualified for nationals in that event by hitting the U SPORTS standard on home turf at the Zoltan Tenke Classic back in November.
 
"We know these names," said Scott-Thomas. "All of these athletes are already All-Canadians and we're talking about them getting better. None of them are graduating this year. What is neat is they're improving they're talent and improving they're leadership skills. That's part of that whole cultural transmission of teamship that we have right now. They're out there foaming at the mouth, they have great team spirit but they're also leading. They don't just get out on the field of play and get us a bunch of points. They are absolutely rock-solid in guiding their teammates and that's what the best do."
 

When you mix in second-year talents like Zoe Sherar and Sadie-Jane Hickson, in addition to immediate-impact rookies like Alexander Purnell, Matthew MacNeill and Canadian national team veterans Philip Osei and Daniel Harper – a pair of 28-year-old runners, who have joined the team not only to perform but to enjoy the culture and the academic experience – Guelph will be a tough team to contend with.
 
It's that definitive culture that makes the difference for the Gryphons. Scott-Thomas knows that track and field athletes are gifted physically but he is most concerned with nurture rather than nature. Every member of the team, regardless of how talented they are, must contribute to the three buckets: citizenship, academics, and athletics.
 
"And in that order," the coach said, noting that 40 members of the team achieved an average of 80 per cent or higher in the fall semester of classes.
 
"Be a good human being, be kind, contribute to your community," he added. "That feeds into academics. We need you in the classroom getting your degrees. That feeds into athletics. We need you 10 out of 10 as an athlete. And that's the third thing on our priority list, which tells you how much we care about the classroom and their humanity. If you can nail those three things, you're going to be a good Gryphon. We're clear and firm about that up front. That's known as part of our identity.
 
"If you're coming here to 'live the dream' or take advantage of good resources, you're not going to last very long."
   
GRYPHONS TO WATCH

WOMEN'S SPRINTS

• Shyvonne Roxborough – Defending U SPORTS 60m champion
• Kendra Leger - U SPORTS 60m hurdles runner-up
• Emma Nero – All Canadian
• Hailey Hitchings – All-Canadian
• Tessa Hamilton – U SPORTS runner-up
• Morgan Byng – All-Canadian
• Zoe Sherar – U20 medalist at 200m and 400m
• Tyra Boug – National team member, Commonwealth Youth Games participant

   
MEN'S SPRINTS

• Kyle Thompson – 2017 U SPORTS champion in 60m
• Kudakwashe Murasiranwa – Junior College transfer has already run 6.90 this year
• Justice Archer – already ran 8.29 in 60m hurdles to lead the country
• Matthew MacNeil – Rookie is national U20 Champion in 60m hurdles
• Matt MacGillivray – Impact rookie, 60m hurdles, football player
• Philip Osei – National team member, broke school record in 300m at York
• Daniel Harper – National team member,
• Graeme Thompson – All Canadian
• Josh Hamilton – Impact rookie

 
WOMEN'S DISTANCE

• Jenna Smith – All-Canadian in 300m
• Olivia Romaniw, Charlotte Ward, Dana Earhart and Sadie-Jane Hickson – U SPORTS 4 x 800m runner-up team
• Emma Hubbard – Medalist at National U20 Championship in 1500m
• Danielle Jossinet – 4^th at U SPORTS XC and All-Canadian
• Hannah Woodhouse – 10^th at U SPORTS XC

 
MEN'S DISTANCE

• Alec Purnell – OFSAA bronze medalist 800m, won Tenke 1000m
• Will Stewart – OFSAA 800m champion, 2^nd at Tenke
• Ryder Horton – Alberta HS 800m Champ, 2^nd at York
• Connor Black – U SPORTS XC champ, 3000m specialist
• Mark Patton – finalist at National Championships last 2 years
• Mostafa Elkurdy – All-Canadian in 1500m
• Mitch Ubene – 5^th at National Championships at 5000m outdoors last year
• Kyle Madden – National U20 champion in 1500m in 2017
• Josh Kellier – National finalist in 3000m steeplechase in 2018

 
WOMEN'S JUMPS & COMBINED EVENTS

• Arabella Alton – All-Canadian high jumper
• Gabrielle Marton – All-Canadian high jumper
• Robin Clark – 2018 OFSAA high jump champion
• Marissa Dubois – All-Canadian long jumper

   
MEN'S JUMPS & COMBINED EVENTS

• Kenny Siharath – Impact rookie, 2017 National U20 long jump champion
• Gerrard Wallace – Impact rookie, 2018 National U20 long jump champion
• Adam Lee – Impact rookie, 2018 OFSAA long jump champion, also high jumps
• Brennan Seguin – Impact rookie, 2018 OFSAA pole vault champion

 
WOMEN'S THROWS

• Emily Fawcett – Impact rookie
• Tamia Noel – OFSAA silver medalist

   
MEN'S THROWS

• Mark Bujnowski – All-Canadian shot putter and weight thrower, 2018 U SPORTS Male Rookie of the Year, already met U SPORTS standard for shot put

 
Full Gryphon Roster
2018/19 Schedule